BALTIMORE — Orioles pitchers allowing solo home runs, in manager Brandon Hyde’s fully logical estimation, is not the worst-case scenario. Of course, he would overwhelmingly prefer they not give up home runs at all.
He couldn’t get his wish Tuesday, when a pair of home runs with the bases empty provided the margin in Baltimore’s 3-1 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds, evening the series between two of baseball’s most exciting young teams. Baltimore’s offense managed only three hits, two by Jordan Westburg in his second major league game, as right-hander Tyler Wells delivered another quality start but was handed the loss thanks to Matt McLain’s sixth-inning solo shot.
The Orioles’ best offensive opportunity came minutes before the skies opened above Camden Yards for a second straight night, prompting a 1-hour, 43-minute delay. After the Orioles managed a run on three walks and Westburg’s two hits off Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, Hyde deployed many of the left-handed bats he had kept on his bench against Abbott to face right-handed reliever Lucas Sims in the seventh. Cedric Mullins drew a pinch-hit walk only to be caught stealing second on a pitchout. After Westburg walked, pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn got ahead 3-0 but grounded out on the next pitch, moving Westburg to second. Adam Frazier replaced Jorge Mateo and was hit by a pitch to put two on for leadoff man Austin Hays, who Sims struck out looking to strand two runners.
It marked the first time the Orioles (48-30) had managed multiple runners since the second, when Aaron Hicks walked, went to third on Westburg’s 99 mph single and scored on Ryan McKenna’s sacrifice fly. Meanwhile, Wells, the major league leader in WHIP, didn’t allow any Reds to reach until TJ Friedl began the fourth with a bunt single. McLain followed with a run-scoring double off the center field wall, then cleared it two innings later. Friedl took Bryan Baker deep in the eighth.
McLain’s home run marked the 19th Wells has allowed this season and the 13th with no runners on base; both totals trail only Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi for the most in the majors. Of the 35 runs Wells has allowed in posting a 3.21 ERA that ranks 10th in the American League, 25 have come via home runs.
Given Wells’ strong start to the season, no pitcher entered Tuesday having faced a higher percentage of batters with the bases empty, according to Baseball Savant. That has afforded him the ability to work in the strike zone, Hyde’s expressed desire for his pitchers in those circumstances.
“I like that guys are being aggressive with nobody on base, for sure, and attacking with the best stuff that they have,” Hyde said before the game. “And I think when you do that, then you’re gonna give up homers on occasion.”
McLain’s shot came on an elevated four-seam fastball at 90.9 mph, the slowest Wells threw that pitch Tuesday. He retired the next three Reds (42-38) to complete six innings for the eighth time in his 15 starts, recording at least seven strikeouts on as many occasions. Including five hitless innings of emergency relief in his season debut, the 28-year-old is tied for the most five-inning appearances in the majors. He reached that mark only 12 times in 23 outings last season, working under inning and pitch restrictions after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, missing a season amid the coronavirus pandemic and working out of the Orioles’ bullpen after being selected in the second round of the Rule 5 draft.
“I’ve been so pleased with Tyler all season long,” Hyde said before the game. “For me, you can talk about him being an All-Star candidate, just what he’s done this first half and what he’s been for our club and every fifth day giving us a chance to win and pitched extremely well.
“I love the growth that he’s made and the progress he’s made over the last couple of years.”
Keegan Akin followed Wells with a two-strikeout seventh and was set to pitch the eighth before heavy rain again disrupted the series. When play resumed after the delay, seven positions were occupied by different players. The highlight of the rearrangement came on the left side of Baltimore’s infield, with Gunnar Henderson moving from third base to shortstop and Westburg going from second to third to form a tandem that was frequent as the top prospects climbed through the minors together.
After Friedl’s home run off Baker doubled Baltimore’s deficit, Henderson’s two-out double went for naught in the bottom half. Facing the same portion of the Orioles’ lineup that came up in the seventh, Reds closer Alexis Díaz improved to 22-for-22 on save chances despite hitting O’Hearn and throwing the ball away, allowing O’Hearn to take second, before walking Frazier. Hays lined out to center to end the game and Baltimore’s three-game winning streak.
